LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — Louisville Metro Police responded to criticisms Friday of its handling of a missing persons case where the victim ended up dead.
Councilwoman Tammy Hawkins, D-1, held a press conference Friday morning on the death of Latasha “Tasha” White, 49.
White’s family identified her Thursday as the woman found shot to death on Newport Road off Fegenbush Lane Wednesday night near GE Appliance Park. Her family said she was last seen April 27 in Louisville’s Park Hill neighborhood, and her keys were missing. But her car, wallet, ID and cellphone were left behind at the home.
“Who determines who gets a missing person report? Who determines who gets on a poster or not? What is the process and protocol for a case like Ms. White’s? And why was not the evidence significant enough? How much for evidence do you need to investigate,” Hawkins asked.
Facing scrutiny, LMPD provided more answers on its response.
In a statement Friday afternoon, the department said an officer went to White’s home April 30 to conduct a welfare check at the request of her employer because she hadn’t shown up for work. No one answered at the home, and LMPD said there were no signs of a struggle or foul play.
May 2, a detective contacted White’s family, following up on the missing persons report they filed May 1. LMPD said her family “did not provide any information that indicated she was in imminent danger, which would have elevated the alert status,” and that the information it received “did not meet the criteria for a public alert.”
The department said White “removed her own cameras from her home while she was home alone in the early morning hours of” April 29.
“Based on the information provided, LMPD had no legal authority to conduct any further searches of her home, her phone, or any other personal property,” LMPD’s statement continued.
That’s where there is a gap in what police have said happened and the account of White’s family.
Loved ones said they begged police for help and that they knew something was wrong, but police didn’t listen.
“And whatever that reason is, it shorted us the time. Time that they could have been out there searching. Time that they could have been out there in the city, that this young lady was missing,” Hawkins said. “But if you look at the timeline, once it got out to the media, they found her. We gotta do better.”
LMPD said officers are now focused on trying to find White’s killer.
The department’s Homicide Unit is handling the investigation, but has no suspects and has made no arrests. Police are looking for any potential witnesses or video from surveillance cameras in the area.
Anyone with information in White’s case, or any other case, is asked to call LMPD’s anonymous Crime Tip Line at (502) 574-LMPD (5673). Tips can also be submitted anonymously through the department’s Crime Tip Portal
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